In the same post, White House Director of New Media Macon Phillips also picked up on the trust issues I had outlined in my previous post:

We know there are more questions out there. One common theme we’re hearing is distrust about how seriously the petitions will be reviewed and considered. That’s an understandable skepticism and one that is best addressed with action, so we invite everyone to judge for themselves once we’re up and running.

Making the effort to answer the skeptics and ensure that the participation process is transparent is certainly a good and necessary first step in building that trust. Nice work!